The Staircase is the latest true crime series to hit Netflix.
It tells the story of crime novelist Michael Peterson, who was accused of murdering his wife Kathleen after he discovered her body at the bottom of a staircase in a pool of blood. Spanning 13 episodes, it covers the twists and turns of the investigation and trial.
If you’re a fan of the series, make sure to listen to BBC Radio 5 live’s podcast Beyond Reasonable Doubt. Presenter Chris Warburton also followed the case, and got interviews with some of the key players that The Staircase didn’t.
Here are some of the things you might have missed:
1. Kathleen's sister's story
Candace Zamperini spoke to Chris openly and powerfully about the loss of her sister, and how the ins and outs of the tragedy since then have affected her and her family.
“I love my sister very much, I miss her very dearly. And this is going to sound strange but I cannot share with you how many times during the trial, something would happen and I would want to tell Kathleen. And then, ‘Oh that’s right, she’s dead, oh that’s right it’s you Kathleen whose murder we’re talking about.'
"It was like constantly a bucket of cold water in my face. I still have a hard time. Yes, my sister is the story here, she is the murder victim."
As well as sharing her memories of her sister, Candace talked about the trial and what the family thought about Michael and his side of the story. Listen to their conversation in full here.
This got a brief mention in The Staircase, but maybe because it’s so left-field, they stayed away from it and focused on the legal process. Basically the theory is that an owl swooped down and struck Kathleen's head, cutting her scalp with its talons. She fled inside - but because she had been drinking - fell down the stairs and blacked out. Michael then found her lying at the bottom of the stairs.
The theory is the brainchild of the Peterson’s neighbour, lawyer Larry Pollard. Chris caught up with him and he explained why he thought it was completely plausible that an owl had done it. And what’s more, showed him the owl that he believed killed Kathleen.
“Owls hit people all the time. It’s called being ‘slammed’… microscopic feathers were recovered by the medical examiner. They were recovered and it was in the lab report. They knew that there was a feather there. And in my opinion there’s other evidence that clearly shows that this was an owl strike."
- Listen to the full episode: "Owl Theory"
- Chris goes back to the man behind “Owl Theory” and gets your questions answered
The poster Tournee du Chat Noir was hanging at the foot of the staircase at 1810 Cedar Street where Kathleen died. During the investigations into the case, it emerged that Elizabeth Ratliff, the mother of Michael's adopted daughters, who died after a fall down the stairs, also had a copy of the poster on a wall at her house in Germany.
Julia Simms from WRAL told us: “Here was another woman 20 years prior and Michael Peterson was the last person to see her alive, just like his wife Kathleen.”
And she highlighted the similarities between the two women: “If you see the pictures of Elizabeth Ratliff and Kathleen Peterson side by side, they look like they could be twins.”
You can hear more about the similarities between the two cases in Episode 6: Sex lies and videotape.
For Kelli Colgan, being a juror on the trial was an “intense” experience.
“You were absorbing a lot of crucial images, emotions, testimony and yet… you had to keep it all in and keep a distance. At least for me, if I overheard conversations if I was out to eat, or if I was out in the store or passing by a little newsstand I was keenly aware to stay as far away as possible from that.”
Chris asked Kelli if she was certain Michael was guilty. She said yes – and that the other factors didn’t influence her decision.
“To hear now that… the reason Michael’s out is because of what he [Duane Deaver] did on other trials is quite disappointing, only because for me, Duane Deaver wouldn’t have even had to get on the stand and I would’ve voted the same way. I didn’t feel we needed a spatter specialist to come and try to prove that this was not an accident.”
“The bisexuality didn’t play a role,” she added. “We were able to separate that as periphery things that we could say, ‘I don’t think Kathleen would’ve approved of this lifestyle given that she had come from another marriage where there was some indiscretion.' But it wasn’t a huge factor, at least, not for me.”
5. The judge thought the jury would decide faster
Judge Orlando Hudson – senior resident superior court judge for Durham County - thought the case would be resolved more quickly than it was.
“I was hoping they would come back quickly," he said. "I did not believe they would not resolve the case.
"I thought the chances that they would not be able to reach a verdict, was zero. I actually thought they had an easy job. I thought the case was clear cut, he was either guilty or he was not.”
You can hear Chris's interview with Judge Orlando Hudson and juror Kelli Colgan, here.
